1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a power amplifier, and in particular to a power amplifier with a compensation circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
A power amplifier amplifies an input signal by a gain at a transmitter prior to data transmission. A power amplifier is considered linear if an output of the amplifier is only different from the input by a substantially constant gain, which is a ratio of output to input signals. Linear power amplifiers find wide applications in RF (Radio Frequency) systems by preventing distortion in the output signal.
Nonlinearity in a power amplifier is caused by nonlinear transconductance (output current gain per change in input voltage), nonlinear input capacitance and nonlinear output resistance. Nonlinear transconductance of the power amplifier is controlled by utilizing the operation range of output power within a satisfactory range of gain, referred to as P1 dB point. Nonlinear output resistance is resolved by high output resistance. Nonlinear input capacitance arises from input capacitance of a power amplifying transistor in a power amplifier being a function of an input signal. In the case of MOS transistor technology, the gate-source capacitance varies with the gate voltage, and in Bipolar transistor technology, the base-emitter capacitance also changes with the base voltage.
Power efficiency is another important measure of a power amplifier because a large current and power is consumed during power amplification. In cases of mobile applications, power efficiency of a power amplifier is critical to determine battery life of mobile devices.
The capability for a power amplifier circuit to maintain efficiency over a wide range of power output levels is referred to as backoff range. Loss of power amplifier efficiency under dynamic backoff conditions can be especially problematic when the power resource is scarce, thus power amplifier for wireless or satellite communication devices typically desire high power efficiency and wider backoff range.
Thus there is a need to provide a linear, high efficiency power amplifier.